Fashion in Film: Elephant Walk

When Elizabeth Taylor passed in March of this year, the prolific stories and images about her reminded me of one of her films that I hadn't seen in years.  Elephant Walk had entranced me as a young woman because of the stunning clothes worn by Elizabeth Taylor.  It was perhaps one of the seeds that was planted early on that grew to become my fascination and love for vintage dresses from the 1950s.

The film was made in 1954 and Edith Head designed the costumes for Elizabeth Taylor.  The movie was filmed on location in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and the setting is stunning.  Head does a great job of making the star stand out amidst such exotic backgrounds.

The clothes that Taylor wears might seem out of place on a remote tea plantation if we weren't told early in the film that her new husband treated her to a new wardrobe in Paris on their honeymoon.

Head dressed Taylor in full skirted dresses with tiny waists that accented her ample bosom.  The dresses were always belted and most of the belts had some sort of adornment or beading to draw the eye right to Taylor's miniscule waistline.

Taylor wore this pink peignoir set on her first night on the plantation.  She looked very romantic and beautiful.

My favorite dress in the entire film is this evening gown.  Purple lace sculpts Taylor's figure very tightly and a white tulle full skirt floats beneath it.  You can see the gown in action in this video.

Like the look?  I have this 1950s dress available at Couture Allure that was probably inspired by Taylor's dress in the film.  Pretty, isn't it?

Summer Shorts Looks, 1954

Don't think your mom or grandmom wore shorts when temperatures soared? Think again! All these looks are from 1954.

March and Mendl pink duffel coat paired with a Pringle cashmere sweater and Kingcraft silk shorts, belted with a pink sash. Shorts sold for $18 in 1954 (about $147 in today's dollar.)

Christian Dior Boutique black linen top and shorts.

Clare Potter pink linen jacket and ice green linen Bermuda shorts. Set sold for $120 in 1954 (about $982 in today's dollar.)

Emilio of Capri for John Miller purple cotton fisherman's jacket and shorts. Set sold for $33 in 1954 (about $270 in today's dollar.)

Jacques Fath blue and white stripe seersucker bolero and shorts.

I have fallen in love with the purple jacket and short set. Which is your favorite?

7 Important American Designers, 1954

So often we read about American fashion designers from the 1950s, and we love to drool over the clothes they made, but we have no idea what the designers themselves looked like. I stumbled across this photo which was part of an ad for Chrysler cars in 1954. The ad headline states, "7 top fashion designers find Chrysler Corporation's 1955 cars a stimulating new concept of good design."

Click on the picture to enlarge and you'll see the faces behind the clothes.

From left to right: Tim Brigance, Anne Fogarty, Clare Potter, Lily Daché, Nettie Rosenstein, Pauline Trigere, and Claire McCardell.

Florence Henderson - 1954

Did you guess? This photo of actress Florence Henderson was taken in 1954, when she was starring in her first role on Broadway in Wish You Were Here. She started with a walk-on role in 1952 and was playing the title role of Fay by the time this photo was taken.

Of course, Henderson is best known for her television role as Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch.

This year, Henderson had a lot of fun when she appeared on Dancing With the Stars. Not bad for 76!

Guess Who?

Can you guess who this young starlet is? The photo was taken in 1954. Answer on Monday!

It's All in the Details

Oftentimes, we can look at an ad or a picture from a vintage magazine too quickly, thinking the look is dated or no longer relevant. Today, let's slow down and look at some details. All of these ads are from 1954. When you open your eyes for inspiration, there are some great ideas to be found.

This ad is for Worumbo Vicuna fabric used in a coat by Max Milstein.

Did you notice the orange leather handbag and yellow gloves? Bright colors offset a basic camel colored coat to perfection. And a colorful scarf peeks out of the pocket. Then, did you notice how the handles of the purse are molded to be flat at the top, so the bag is comfortable to carry on the arm? Genius!

Here's an ad for a mink wrap coat by Leslie Morris, Bergdorf Goodman's custom designer.

Did you notice that incredible hat? The model's hair is worn tight to the head, and a cap of pheasant feathers is tilted to the side. So sophisticated!

This ad is for Jantzen bras.

Did you notice the stacked pearls on her arm? There are either several multi-strand bracelets worn one atop the other, or several strands of pearls wrapped around and around the arm to form a wide cuff. Fabulous!

Here's a photo of a simple black matte jersey dress and jacket by Larry Aldrich. The 3/4 jacket sleeves are lengthened with black gloves.

Did you notice how the plain black is set off with a zebra-striped bag? Fun!

This ad is for a Maximilian mink coat.

Did you notice her haircut? The hair is parted low on one side and swept over the top of her head with little wisps touching the forehead. Love!